New Historical Marker for Setauket Village Green

New Historical Marker for Setauket Village Green, a photo by Edu-Tourist on Flickr.

If the cars speeding down Main Steet can slow down long enough, they will learn that the Setauket Village Green was site of first settlement in the Town of Brookhaven (April 15, 1655) and was involved in the Battle of Setauket (August 22, 1777). Setauket Presbyterian Church and Caroline Episcopal Church jointly own and maintain the green. Last October, the Historic Preservation Committee of Setauket Presbyterian Church held a very successful commemoration of the 350 years of worship in Setauket which in 1660 was the largest settlement in the Town of Brookhaven. One of the rebels to fight in the Battle of Setauket, Nathaniel Green, came back to the village after the war to find it in a sorry "state of wretchedness." He rallied local residents to rebuild the church, renovate the cemetery and recreate a sense of community amongst a people whose nerves had been frayed through years of military occupation and, for many, exile across the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. The church was razed by fire several times during Rev. Nathaniel Green's tenure. The current church structure was dedicated in 1812, so the Historic Preservation Committee is now planning to "rededicate" the church on its 200th birthday! Watch this photostream for updates.

I still have many of the photographs that were take at that church's 350 Celebration and have to decide how to make use of them. One idea is to create a video - much longer than the one that appeared on Three Village Patch yet building on the effortless way that it shares the storyline of the day.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ira Costell at today's meeting of the SPC Historic Preservation Committee. Mr. Costell filled us in in on the history of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area [LINSHA] and the current initiative to commemorate George Washington's Culper Spy Ring with driving tour signs and audio description. This sounds like a wonderful idea, and I am wondering if there might not be ways for photographers with interest in historic landscapes and historic preservation to help out. Assuming that Session (comprised of SPC church elders) approves, we will soon see another historic marker on the green that connects to audio description of the role that the church and its members played to support the Revolutionary War effort.